As part of their attempt to broaden the PlayStation brand and increase total market share, Sony has opened up the PlayStation Mobile certification to any Android manufacturer willing to pay for it. The certification allows manufacturers to offer the exclusive PlayStation Mobile games that have, until now, only been available on Sony Android devices.

During the Sony presentation at E3, it was announced that HTC would be the first hardware manufacturer to add the PlayStation Mobile certification to their devices. What does that mean for HTC devices, and the app developers currently working with them?

HTC has had a team of developer advocates working very specifically towards apps for HTC devices. The HTCDEV team has been seen at many different events, all focused on encouraging developers to use the Sense SDK to optimize their apps for SenseUI. On top of their Sense crusade, the HTCDEV team has also been seen reaching out to game developers.

So far HTC’s Scribe stylus has only been used in a limited fashion, but the HTCDEV team has encouraged several game developers to add Scribe support to their games, or to make new games that focus on the Scribe input to make the game more enjoyable. The group is made up of a pretty dedicated group of individuals, so it seemed likely that this team would be best suited to help bring the PlayStation Mobile certification a unique HTC flair, maybe even adding value where other manufacturers wouldn’t be able to.

Unfortunately, that’s not the case. When asked for comment on how HTC and HTCDEV would operate with the new PlayStation infusion, it was made clear that HTC’s efforts in the development space would not be affected by PlayStation Mobile. The developer tools at HTCDEV.com would not be modified to include any additional support for PlayStation Mobile. For all intents and purposes, the PlayStation Mobile certification is not controlled or at this point even really supported by HTC at all.

The general feeling so far is that the PlayStation Mobile certification is a value added plugin to HTC’s Android offerings, but for the time being we’re not going to see much else happening. Whether or not this is due to the restrictions that have been put in place by Sony is unclear, since details regarding the certification requirements are sparse. HTC isn’t likely to point the finger at their new partner if that is the case, so all we know is that HTCDEV is going to have a hands-off approach to this new addition.

HTC’s done a lot over the last year to turn their offerings into lifestyle devices. The addition of Beats Audio, and the total system adoption of that audio service in Sense4, was the first of many steps geared to create a whole package that no other Android manufacturer is offering. HTC seems to be absorbing brand names to strap on to their devices to encourage users to purchase and use their devices, rather than branding everything under HTC exclusively.

Whether or not the PlayStation Mobile addition is going to give HTC forward momentum has yet to be seen, but it’s been made abundantly clear that for now this is just another sticker for HTC to add to the box.